I'm (Still) Glad I Went To The U of M

As everyone knows, the Tigers lost to St. Louis on Friday night in their first NCAA tournament game. It would have been more bearable if they had played "the Memphis way" and lost to a better team, but it was obvious right away that they were nervous and off their game. It broke my heart to see such a promising season end so badly. After the game I felt bereft and seriously didn't know what to do with myself. I mean, my next couple of weeks were planned around basketball - now what am I supposed to do? But by Saturday morning, I had mostly shaken off my emotional hangover. A friend told me she was proud of me for getting out of bed and making plans for the day. LOL.

I feel great affection and pride for the players as individuals, even though I've never met any of them, and it hurt me to see them go out like that. Happily, most of them will be back next year (including, I hope, Carmouche! He's my favorite, but sat out most of the season and is now trying to get a redshirt). Also, for those who don't know, most of the starters are native Memphians. My favorite part of the starting lineup at every home game is hearing "From Memphis, Tennessee" again and again. How many major college teams have that much hometown talent? It's something special.

Do you think I have enough game day shirts?

I hope the Tigers close their ears to the haters and know that their fans are still behind them. I've read a couple of articles that made me want to cry, and the calls to fire Pastner are so excessive and reactionary. Are Duke and Missouri turning on their coaches with torches and pitchforks? I stand behind Pastner. I think he's an outstanding human being who knows basketball and knows what he's doing. Bad days happen. Sometimes they happen in the national spotlight at the worst possible time. But you move on and continue to build. As for me, I stand ready to buy season tickets for what I'm sure will be an amazing 2012-13 season. TIGER FOR LIFE. GO TIGERS GO!!!